Biz Briefs: Vanishing Vacation

So much for a summer getaway. A new survey by online travel company Expedia reports that a record 421 million vacation days will go unused this year; 31% of us will not use all our vacation, and the average worker will leave three days on the table (up from two in 2003). For one-third of the work force, the longest vacation will be seven days or less. That’s good news for employers, who will save about $54 billion. But that’s not so great for the travel- and-leisure industry, which is scrambling to reverse the trend. Expedia, for instance, is offering discounts on what it calls destination vacations–planned adventures like cave diving or whale watching. Universal Orlando theme parks is so concerned about the vacation deficit that it has created a tongue-in-cheek ad campaign called Have a Life, featuring mock executives thanking workers for sacrificing their vacation for the bottom line. Many hotels are touting luxury beds, Internet service and fourth-night-free deals. But with a vulnerable work force in a tight economy, many workers see vacation as an unaffordable luxury–and even when they do take one, work obligations loom. “I feel like I need to go on vacation,” says Elk River, Minn., mortgage-company owner Molly Nadeau, “but to go and then come home and catch up is all very stressful. I just don’t feel it’s worth it.” Unfortunately for the travel industry, a few discounts aren’t going to change that. –By David E. Thigpen/Chicago. With reporting by Sara Sturmon Dale/Minneapolis